Re-configuring satellite antennas based on the number of satellites in a constellation

ABSTRACT

An illustrative embodiment disclosed herein is a satellite including a transceiver, a first antenna, a second antenna, and a switch to enable only the first antenna by electrically coupling the first antenna to the transceiver responsive to a satellite constellation having less than a threshold number of satellites and enable only the second antenna by electrically coupling the second antenna to the transceiver responsive to the satellite constellation having greater than the threshold number of satellites.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to and claims priority under 35 U.S. §119(e) from U.S. Patent Application No. 62/699,899, filed Jul. 18, 2018,titled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR A HYBRID SATELLITE TERRESTRIAL LOW POWERWIDE AREA NETWORK,” the entire contents of which are incorporated hereinby reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The following description is provided to assist the understanding of thereader. None of the information provided or references cited is admittedto be prior art.

There is tremendous value in connecting billions of devices if the costof connectivity can be made sufficiently low. There have been manyattempts to address the Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) market. A fundamentalproblem is the cost of deploying a terrestrial-only network due to theamount of infrastructure required especially if indoor coverage isrequired. On the other hand, conventional satellite technology isexpensive relative to the required LPWA cost-point and does not reliablyreach indoors.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a system and method for aLow Power Wide Area (LPWA) network, and more particularly to a systemand method for re-configuring a satellite antenna.

An illustrative embodiment disclosed herein is a satellite including atransceiver, a first antenna, a second antenna, and a switch to enableonly the first antenna by electrically coupling the first antenna to thetransceiver responsive to a satellite constellation having less than athreshold number of satellites and enable only the second antenna byelectrically coupling the second antenna to the transceiver responsiveto the satellite constellation having greater than the threshold numberof satellites.

Another illustrative embodiment disclosed herein is a method includingresponsive to a number of satellites in a satellite constellationbecoming greater than a threshold number, disabling, by a switch, afirst antenna by disconnecting the first antenna from a transceiver andenabling, by the switch, a second antenna by connecting the secondantenna to the transceiver.

Another illustrative embodiment disclosed herein is a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium to store a computer program configuredto execute operations including, responsive to a number of satellites ina satellite constellation becoming greater than a threshold number,disabling a first antenna by disconnecting the first antenna from atransceiver and enabling a second antenna by connecting the secondantenna to the transceiver.

Further details of aspects, objects, and advantages of the invention aredescribed below in the detailed description, drawings, and claims. Boththe foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary and explanatory, and are not intended to be limiting as tothe scope of the invention. Particular embodiments may include all,some, or none of the components, elements, features, functions,operations, or steps of the embodiments disclosed above. The subjectmatter which can be claimed comprises not only the combinations offeatures as set out in the attached claims but also any othercombination of features in the claims, wherein each feature mentioned inthe claims can be combined with any other feature or combination ofother features in the claims. Furthermore, any of the embodiments andfeatures described or depicted herein can be claimed in a separate claimand/or in any combination with any embodiment or feature described ordepicted herein or with any of the features of the attached claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example block diagram of a hybrid network, in accordancewith some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an example diagram of a frame structure of the hybrid network,in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is an example block diagram of a wireless multiple access schemefor determining a distance to an endpoint, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A is an example method for making a time-of-flight measurement, inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B is an example method for measuring time-of-flight of multipleendpoints, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5A is an example block diagram of a satellite network fordelivering downlink data, in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5B is an example method for storing and forwarding downlink data,in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5C is an example method for selecting candidate satellites forcommunicating with a target endpoint, in accordance with someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is an example method for compensating a Doppler frequency offset,in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is an example block diagram of a satellite network for selectinga satellite antenna, in accordance with some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the following description and appended claims, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with thedisclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of itsscope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity anddetail through use of the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in thedetailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in awide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitlycontemplated and make part of this disclosure.

There is tremendous value in connecting billions of devices if the costof connectivity can be made sufficiently low. There have been manyattempts to address the Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) market. A fundamentalproblem is the cost of deploying a terrestrial-only network due to theamount of infrastructure required especially if indoor coverage isrequired. On the other hand, conventional satellite technology isexpensive relative to the required LPWA cost-point and does not reliablyreach indoors.

A hybrid network employing both Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites andterrestrial (or tower) elements has the potential to have the bestattributes of both satellite-only and terrestrial-only networks.Additional benefits unique to the hybrid approach also exist with theselection of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) as the communicationtechnology approach. A DSSS hybrid satellite and terrestrial approachwill address the connectivity needs of billions of devices at therequired price-point.

Another aspect of the disclosure is a wireless multiple access schemewhere a serving satellite of the network is able perform multipletime-of-flight measurements with multiple endpoints while avoidingcorrupted packets due to interference among the multiple endpoints. Themultiple time-of-flight measurements can be used to supporttrilateration to calculate the location of the multiple endpoints.

Another aspect of the disclosure is a reliable delivery of downlink datafor the case when the serving satellite does not necessarily haveconnectivity to a ground station when in range to the endpoint. By notrequiring simultaneous connectivity to the ground station and theendpoint, the satellite effectively extends its coverage. The networkalso determines a set of candidate satellites to broadcast informationto for serving the ground station and the endpoint. By reducing thenumber of satellites to broadcast to, the network saves bandwidth andstorage capacity.

Another aspect of the disclosure is a method of compensating forchanging Doppler frequency offset. The satellites are moving atvelocities that are high enough to cause the rate of change of therelative velocity between endpoints and satellite to become a problemfor a network employing a Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) systemat high spreading factors. A measurement and compensation techniqueachieves sufficiently high spreading factors that allow indoor coveragefrom a LEO satellite.

Another aspect of the disclosure is a method of a selectable satelliteantenna that allows for deeper satellite coverage as the satelliteconstellation is densified over time. The selectable satellite antennais flexible in meeting the needs a satellite network depending on thephase of deployment. In the early phase of deployment, less than athreshold number of satellites may be available to cover the earth. Insuch a scenario, the network may use a lower gain antenna whichmaximizes the footprint of the satellite, at the expense of the depth ofcoverage that a higher gain antenna provides. Once greater than thethreshold number of satellites are part of the constellation, and therequired footprint of the satellite becomes smaller, the network may usea higher gain antenna to provide deeper coverage based on the additionalantenna gain.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a hybrid network 100 is shown. The hybridnetwork 100 is a wide area network (WAN) architecture that incorporatesboth a satellite component and terrestrial component. In brief overview,the hybrid network 100 may include an endpoint 101, a satellite 102, atower 103, a ground station 104, a network head-end 105, and anapplication 106. The endpoint 101 may be wirelessly coupled to thesatellite 102 and the tower 103. The tower 103 can also be referred toas a terrestrial network. The satellite 102 may be wirelessly coupled aground station 104, and the satellite 102 may include a high gainantenna. The tower 103 and the ground station 104 may be coupled to theWAN via the network head-end 105. The application 106 that leverages thedata from the endpoint 101 may be coupled via the network head-end 105.The network head-end 105 may function as an interface for theapplication 106. The application may send and receive data to theendpoint 101 via the network head-end 105. Although one of eachcomponent in the hybrid network 100 is shown, there may be greater thanone of some or all of the components. For example, the hybrid network100 may include greater than one endpoint.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an example frame structure 200 of the hybridnetwork 100. In brief overview, the frame structure 200 includes asynchronization symbol sequence 201, a broadcast timeslot 202, adownlink timeslot 203, and an uplink timeslot 204. The frame may repeatat a regular rate. The endpoint 101 may use the synchronization symbolsequence 201 to acquire frame timing, synchronization, and knowledge ofwhich of the satellites 102 or towers 103 are candidates to establish awireless link. All endpoints 101 that are awake and within link rangemay receive the broadcast timeslot 202. The broadcast timeslot 202 mayinclude system parameters such as satellite 102 or tower 103identification, system frame number which can map directly to time, andother parameters required for the endpoint 101 to be capable ofdemodulating a link. The satellite 102 or the tower 103 may transmitdownlink data to a specific endpoint 101 during the downlink timeslot203. The endpoint 101 may transmit to the satellite 102 or tower 103during the uplink timeslot 204.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a wireless multiple access scheme 300 fordetermining a distance to an endpoint is shown. In brief overview, themultiple access scheme 300 may include one or more endpoints, such as anendpoint 301, and one or more satellites, such as a satellite at t=t0302, satellite at t=t1 303, and a satellite at t=t2 304. The satelliteat t=t0 302, the satellite at t=t1 303, and the satellite at t=t2 30 maybe collectively referred to herein as the satellites 302-304. Theendpoint 301 may be an instance of the endpoint 101 described withrespect to FIG. 1. The satellites 302-304 may be instances of thesatellite 102 described with respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments,satellite at t=t0 302 is a same satellite as satellite at t=t1 303. Thesame may be true for any two of the satellites 302-304 with respect toFIG. 3. The multiple access scheme 300 may further include one or moreground stations 305 and a location server 306. The ground station 305may be an instance of the ground station 104 described with respect toFIG. 1. The location server 306 may be an instance of the networkhead-end 105 described with respect to FIG. 1. Although only oneendpoint 301 is depicted, in other embodiments, greater than oneendpoint may be used. Although the satellites 302-304 are depicted, inother embodiments, greater than three satellites may be used. Althoughonly one ground station 305 is depicted, in other embodiments, greaterthan one ground station may be used.

The endpoint 301 may have its position determined uniquely through threecommunication events. Those events may be between as few as twosatellites, such as the satellites 302-304. The endpoint 301 may havethree successful link transactions with the satellites 302-304.Roundtrip time measurement 307 is measured at between the endpoint 301and the satellite at t=t0 302. Roundtrip time measurement 308 ismeasured at between the endpoint 301 and the satellite at t=t1 302.Roundtrip time measurement 309 is measured at between the endpoint 301and the satellite at t=t2 304. The time-of-flight data 310, 311, and 312may be transmitted by the satellites 302-304 at the given times,respectively, to the one or more ground stations 305. The one or moreground stations 305 may relay the time-of-flight data 310, 311, and 312with a timestamp and the satellite of origin to a location server 306.Since the distance is known from the time-of-flight data 310, 311, and312, the speed of light is known. Thus, the position of the satellites302-304 are known based on time-stamps. Accordingly, the location server306 is able to employ trilateration to get an accurate measure of thelocation of the endpoint 301.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, an example method 400 for making atime-of-flight measurement is shown. The method 400 for making atime-of-flight measurement may be implemented using, or performed by,the components of the wireless multiple access scheme 300 detailedherein with respect to FIG. 3. Additional, fewer, or differentoperations may be performed in the method 400 depending on theembodiment. In some embodiments, the time-of-flight measurement is madebetween an endpoint, such as endpoint 301, and a satellite, such as oneof satellites 302-304. Without loss of generality, the describedembodiment is a calculation of a time-of-flight measurement betweenendpoint 301 and the satellite at t=0 302, which may be referred toherein as the satellite 302. At operation 401, the satellite 302 maydetermine the beginning of uplink timeslot 204, referred to herein ast0. At operation 402, the endpoint 301 may determine the beginning ofthe uplink timeslot 204, but the time reference is advanced by thetime-of-flight, D1, between satellite is 302 and endpoint 301. Atoperation 403, the endpoint 301 may intentionally delay the transmissionof a frame of information by a quantity H. The quantity H may be theoutput of a hashing function between the unique media access controlidentifier (MAC ID) of endpoint 301 along with a notion of time such assystem frame number (SFN), but other algorithms and data inputs arepossible. The endpoint 301 may receive the data inputs and the algorithmin a payload (or preamble) of a packet received from the satellite 302.At operation 404, the endpoint 301 may transmit data to the satellite302. At operation 405, the satellite 302 may receive the transmissionfrom the endpoint 301. The satellite 302 may have access to the sameinformation that created the hash, and the hashing algorithm itself. Insome embodiments, the satellite 302 receives the data inputs and thealgorithm for the hash in a payload (or preamble) of a packet in thetransmission received from the endpoint 301. As part of the demodulationof that signal, a time delay of (D1+H)+D1 may be observed since theuplink signal also is delayed by D1 due to transit time based on thespeed-of-light. At operation 406, the satellite determines thetime-of-flight data, D1. Since the satellite 302 may recover the datathat goes into the hash calculation (such as MAC ID and SFN), it cansubtract out H and solve for the time-of-flight, D1.

Referring now to FIG. 4B, an example method 410 for measuringtime-of-flight of multiple endpoints is shown. The method 410 formeasuring time-of-flight of multiple endpoints may be implemented using,or performed by, the components of the wireless multiple access scheme300 detailed herein with respect to FIG. 3. Additional, fewer, ordifferent operations may be performed in the method 400 depending on theembodiment. The method 410 may include some or all of the operations ofthe method 400 with respect to each endpoint. In some embodiments, themethod 410 is performed by a satellite, such as one of satellites302-304, a first endpoint, such as endpoint 301, and a second endpointsimilar to endpoint 301 but not depicted in FIG. 3. At operation 411,the satellite sends one or more downlink signals to the first endpointand the second endpoint. In some embodiments, the first endpoint and thesecond endpoint are in a same geographic region such that they receivethe downlink signal at a substantially similar or same time. Atoperation 412, the first endpoint calculates a first delay value, H1.The delay value H1 may be the output of an algorithm, such as a hashingfunction, receiving one or more identifiers of the first endpoint asinputs. The one or more identifiers may include unique MAC ID of thefirst endpoint and an SFN. The first endpoint may intentionally delaythe transmission of the responding uplink signal to the satellite by anamount equal to H1. At operation 413, the second endpoint calculates asecond delay value, H2. The delay value H2 may be the output of thealgorithm and one or more identifiers of the second endpoint. The secondendpoint may intentionally delay the transmission of the respondinguplink signal to the satellite by an amount equal to H2. At operation414, the satellite receives a first uplink signal from the firstendpoint at a first time responsive to the first endpoint delayingtransmission by the delay value H1. At operation 415, the satellitereceives a second uplink signal from the second endpoint at a secondtime different from the first time. The satellite receives the seconduplink signal at the second time responsive to the second endpointdelaying transmission by the delay value H2. In some embodiments, thefirst uplink signal and the second uplink signal overlap in their timesof arrival at satellite. In some such embodiments, the first uplinksignal and the second uplink signal are offset from each other by atleast one chip offset, wherein each of the uplink signals comprisesmultiple chips of information. Upon receiving the first uplink signaland the second uplink signal, the satellite determines the distances toeach of the first endpoint and the second endpoint using operationsdescribed with respect to FIG. 4A.

Referring now to FIG. 5A, a satellite network 500 for deliveringdownlink data is shown. In brief overview, the satellite network 500 mayinclude an endpoint 501, a satellite 502, a satellite 503, a satellite504, a satellite 505, one or more ground stations 506, a location server507, a config server 508, and an application 509. The satellites 502,503, 504, and 505 may be collectively referred to herein as thesatellites 502-505. The location server 507 is coupled to the one ormore ground stations 506, the config server 508, and the application509. The one or more ground stations 506 may be coupled to one or moreof the satellites 502-505. The endpoint 501 may be coupled to one ormore of the satellites 502-505. The endpoint 501 may be an instance ofthe endpoint 101 as described in FIG. 1. The satellites 502-505 may beinstances of the satellite 102 described with respect to FIG. 1. The oneor more ground stations 506 may be an instance of the ground station 104described with respect to FIG. 1. The location server 507 may be aninstance of the network head-end 105 described with respect to FIG. 1.The application 509 may be an instance of the application 106 describedwith respect to FIG. 1. In some embodiments, the satellite network 500may include greater than or less components. For example, the satellitenetwork 500 may include greater than one endpoint.

Referring now to FIG. 5B, an example method 510 for storing andforwarding downlink data is shown. The method 510 for storing andforwarding downlink data may be implemented using, or performed by, thecomponents of the satellite network 500 detailed herein with respect toFIG. 5. Additional, fewer, or different operations may be performed inthe method 510 depending on the embodiment. The method 510 may beimplemented in an environment where a serving satellite, such as thesatellite 503, does not have connectivity to a back-end, such as theground station 506, when in range to a target endpoint, such as theendpoint 501. Without loss of generality, the embodiment herein will bedescribed with respect to the satellite 503, the ground station 506, andthe endpoint 501. At operation 511, the satellite 503 receives a firstdownlink signal from the ground station 506 while not havingconnectivity to the endpoint 501. In some embodiments, the satellite 503does not have connectivity to the endpoint 501 because of a distancebetween the satellite 503 and the endpoint 501, multi-path fading,Doppler frequency shift, and/or the like. The satellite 503 may storecontent of the first downlink signal. The content may include a physicaldata unit (PDU), a datagram, a packet, a preamble, a payload, data,metadata, bits, and the like. At operation 512, the satellite 503establishes a connection with the endpoint 501. In some embodiments, thesatellite 503 establishes the connection with the endpoint 501 when thesatellite 503 moves within the range of the endpoint 501. In some suchembodiments, the satellite 503 moves out of range of the ground station506. The satellite 503 may lose the connection with the ground station506. At operation 513, the satellite 503 sends a second downlink signalto the endpoint 501 while not having connectivity to the ground station506. The second downlink signal may include the same content as thefirst downlink signal. In some embodiments, the satellite 503 does nothave connectivity to the ground station 506 because of a distancebetween the satellite 503 and the ground station 506, multi-path fading,Doppler frequency shift, and/or the like.

Referring now to FIG. 5C, an example method 520 for selecting candidatesatellites for communicating with a target endpoint is shown. The method520 for selecting the candidate satellites for communicating with thetarget endpoint may be implemented using, or performed by, thecomponents of the satellite network 500 detailed herein with respect toFIG. 5. Additional, fewer, or different operations may be performed inthe method 520 depending on the embodiment. At operation 521, thelocation server 507 determines a satellite constellation of satellites,such as the satellites 502-505. At operation 522, the location server507 determines a next available time that the target endpoint, such asthe endpoint 501, is available. The target endpoint's next availabletime may be the next time that the target endpoint is awake. The nextavailable time may be supplied by the config server 508. At operation523, the location server 507 determines a location of the targetendpoint. The location server 507 may determine the location of thetarget endpoint by performing trilateration as described with respect toFIG. 3. The location of the target endpoint may be a location of thetarget endpoint at the next available time.

At operation 524, location server 507 determines a set of candidatesatellites, such as the satellites 502, 503, and 504, that may be inrange with the target endpoint at the target endpoint's next availabletime. The determination of the set of candidate satellites may be basedon the satellite constellation, the target endpoint location, and thenext available time of the target endpoint. At operation 525, thelocation server 507 may instruct the ground station 506 to broadcast thedownlink signal to the set of candidate satellites. The location server507 may instruct the ground station 506 to transmit to each of thecandidate satellites during a time period in which the respectivecandidate satellite has connectivity to the ground station 506. Thedownlink signal may be generated by the application 509 and forwarded bythe location server 507 to the ground station 506. After the targetendpoint becomes available, the target endpoint may establish a link tosome or all of the candidate satellites. The target endpoint maydetermine the strongest link by measuring a signal strength of some orall of the candidate satellites. In some such embodiments, the targetendpoint receives the downlink signal from the candidate satellite withthe greatest signal strength.

In some embodiments, the satellite with the greatest signal strength isnot a member of the candidate satellites, such as the satellite 505. Insome such embodiments, the target endpoint waits until the satellitewith the greatest signal strength receives the downlink signal from theground station. In some such embodiments, the target endpoint receivesthe downlink signal from a satellite with the second greatest signalstrength. In some embodiments, the satellite with the greatest signalstrength does not have sufficient downlink capacity (or is getting closeto insufficient downlink capacity). Whereas more bandwidth allows forhigh capacity on the uplink, this is not true on the downlink, with atransmit power limited situation that is often the case in a satellitesystem. The satellite with the greatest signal strength may signalinsufficient capacity either in the broadcast timeslot 202 or modulatedupon the synchronization symbol sequence 201. Based on that information,then target endpoint may wait until the satellite with the greatestsignal strength retains sufficient capacity. In general, the targetendpoint may receive the downlink signal from the strongest satellitethat is in the set of candidate satellites (and thus has access to thedownlink datagram) and does not have capacity limitations.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an example method 600 for compensating achanging Doppler frequency offset is shown. The method 600 forcompensating a changing Doppler frequency offset may be implementedusing, or performed by, the components of the hybrid network 100detailed herein with respect to FIG. 1, such as a satellite and/or anendpoint. Additional, fewer, or different operations may be performed inthe method 600 depending on the embodiment. Without loss of generality,the embodiment herein will be described with respect to the endpoint 101and the satellite 102. The maximum spreading factor of the downlink maybe lower than the maximum spreading factor of the uplink. At the maximumspreading factor of the downlink, the rate of Doppler frequency changemay not be a significant problem for downlink performance.

At operation 601, the endpoint 101 can make a first frequencymeasurement, f1, during a first downlink timeslot. At operation 602, theendpoint 101 can make a second frequency measurement, f2, during asecond downlink timeslot. The time between the two frequencymeasurements may be referred to as time t1. In some embodiments, thefirst frequency measurement and the second frequency measurement areperformed during a same downlink timeslot. At operation 603, theendpoint 101 can determine the rate of Doppler frequency change. Atoperation 604 based on the two frequency measurements, the endpoint 101may apply a rate of frequency offset that cancels out the rate ofDoppler frequency change by applying the frequency ramp off(t)=(f2−f1)/t1×(t+t2) during the uplink timeslot interval. The value t2is the time between the second frequency estimate and the beginning ofthe uplink timeslot interval. In some embodiments, the applied rate offrequency offset is time-varying. In some embodiments, the applied rateof frequency offset is linear. In some embodiments, the applied rate offrequency offset is quadratic.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a satellite network 700 for selecting asatellite antenna is shown. The satellite network 700 may include anendpoint 701, an endpoint 702, a satellite 703, a ground station 704, atower 705, a network head-end 706, and an application 707. The satellite703 may include a transceiver 708, a switch 709, an antenna 710, and anantenna 711. One port of the switch 709 may be coupled to thetransceiver 708. A second port of the switch 709 may be coupled to theantenna 710. A third port of the switch 709 may be coupled to theantenna 711. The components of the satellite network 700 may beinstances of the components of the hybrid network 100 described withrespect to FIG. 1. For example, the endpoints 701 and 702 may beinstances of the endpoint 101 described with respect to FIG. 1. In someembodiments, the satellite network 700 may include greater than or lesscomponents. For example, the satellite network 700 may include greaterthan or less than two endpoints.

The satellite 703 may optimize the performance of the satellite network700 over time. A low gain antenna, such as the antenna 710, and a highgain antenna, such as the antenna 711, may be selectable by the switch709 for electrical coupling to the transceiver 708. Without loss ofgenerality, the embodiment herein will be described with respect to theantenna 710 and the antenna 711. The switch 709 setting may be set suchthat the low gain antenna, antenna 710, is electrically coupled, via theswitch 709, to the transceiver 708. In some such embodiments, thesatellite 703 covers the endpoints 701 and 702. The footprint of thesatellite 703 may be maximized in this setting. The switch 709 settingmay be changed such that the antenna 711 is electrically coupled, viathe switch 709, to the transceiver 708. In some embodiments, thesatellite 703 is configured to use the higher gain antenna when asufficient number of satellites are part of the constellation. Thefootprint of the antenna 711 may be smaller, such that the satellite 703does not cover the endpoint 702. However, a neighboring satellite may becovering the endpoint 702, as the density of the constellation may haveincreased. Thus, the endpoint 701 may have deeper coverage due to thehigher antenna gain of the antenna 711.

Each of the elements or entities corresponding to the FIGS. 1-7 may beimplemented using hardware or a combination of hardware or software, inone or more embodiments. For instance, each of these elements orentities can include any application, program, library, script, task,service, process or any type and form of executable instructionsexecuting on hardware of one or more of the components of the hybridnetwork 100, the satellite network 500, and/or the satellite network700. The hardware includes circuitry such as one or more processorsand/or modems in one or more embodiments. Each of the one or moreprocessors and/or modems is hardware or a combination of hardware orsoftware.

It is to be understood that any examples used herein are simply forpurposes of explanation and are not intended to be limiting in any way.

The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates differentcomponents contained within, or connected with, different othercomponents. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures aremerely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can beimplemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense,any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality iseffectively “associated” such that the desired functionality isachieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve aparticular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each othersuch that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective ofarchitectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components soassociated can also be viewed as being “operably connected,” or“operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality,and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewedas being “operably couplable,” to each other to achieve the desiredfunctionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but arenot limited to physically mateable and/or physically interactingcomponents and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interactingcomponents and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactablecomponents.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.” Further, unlessotherwise noted, the use of the words “approximate,” “about,” “around,”“substantially,” etc., mean plus or minus ten percent.

The foregoing description of illustrative embodiments has been presentedfor purposes of illustration and of description. It is not intended tobe exhaustive or limiting with respect to the precise form disclosed,and modifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings or may be acquired from practice of the disclosed embodiments.It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claimsappended hereto and their equivalents.

What is claimed:
 1. A satellite comprising: a transceiver; a firstantenna; a second antenna; and a switch to: enable only the firstantenna by electrically coupling the first antenna to the transceiverresponsive to a satellite constellation having less than a thresholdnumber of satellites; and enable only the second antenna by electricallycoupling the second antenna to the transceiver responsive to thesatellite constellation having greater than the threshold number ofsatellites, wherein the satellite receives the satellite constellationfrom a location server.
 2. The satellite of claim 1, wherein the firstantenna has a lower gain than the second antenna.
 3. The satellite ofclaim 1, wherein the first antenna has a larger footprint than thesecond antenna.
 4. The satellite of claim 1, wherein the satellite cancommunicate with a first endpoint and a second endpoint responsive tothe switch only enabling the first antenna, and wherein the satellitecan only communicate with the first endpoint responsive to the switchonly enabling the second antenna.
 5. A method comprising: responsive toa number of satellites in a satellite constellation becoming greaterthan a threshold number: disabling, by a switch, a first antenna bydisconnecting the first antenna from a transceiver; and enabling, by theswitch, a second antenna by connecting the second antenna to thetransceiver, wherein the satellite receives the satellite constellationfrom a location server.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the firstantenna has a lower gain than the second antenna.
 7. The method of claim5, wherein the first antenna has a larger footprint than the secondantenna.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the satellite can communicatewith a first endpoint and a second endpoint responsive to the switchonly enabling the first antenna, and wherein the satellite can onlycommunicate with the first endpoint responsive to the switch onlyenabling the second antenna.
 9. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium to store a computer program configured to executeoperations comprising: responsive to a number of satellites in asatellite constellation becoming greater than a threshold number:disabling a first antenna by disconnecting the first antenna from atransceiver; and enabling a second antenna by connecting the secondantenna to the transceiver, wherein the satellite receives the satelliteconstellation from a location server.
 10. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the first antenna has alower gain than the second antenna.
 11. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the first antenna has alarger footprint than the second antenna.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein the satellite cancommunicate with a first endpoint and a second endpoint responsive tothe computer program only enabling the first antenna, and wherein thesatellite can only communicate with the first endpoint responsive to thecomputer program only enabling the second antenna.
 13. A satellitecomprising: a transceiver; a first antenna; a second antenna; and aswitch to: enable only the first antenna by electrically coupling thefirst antenna to the transceiver responsive to a satellite constellationhaving less than a threshold number of satellites; and enable only thesecond antenna by electrically coupling the second antenna to thetransceiver responsive to the satellite constellation having greaterthan the threshold number of satellites, wherein the first antenna has alower gain than the second antenna.
 14. A method comprising: responsiveto a number of satellites in a satellite constellation becoming greaterthan a threshold number: disabling, by a switch, a first antenna bydisconnecting the first antenna from a transceiver; and enabling, by theswitch, a second antenna by connecting the second antenna to thetransceiver, wherein the first antenna has a lower gain than the secondantenna.
 15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium to storea computer program configured to execute operations comprising:responsive to a number of satellites in a satellite constellationbecoming greater than a threshold number: disabling a first antenna bydisconnecting the first antenna from a transceiver; and enabling asecond antenna by connecting the second antenna to the transceiver,wherein the first antenna has a lower gain than the second antenna,wherein the first antenna has a lower gain than the second antenna.